Every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Estimates that 300,000 people in the United States are hospitalized, and 5,000 people, mostly the very young, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, die from food borne illness. A staggering 76 million people are sickened due to food borne illnesses1. These numbers are conservative because millions of mild cases of food borne illnesses which occur in private homes go unreported. The U.S. Public Health Service cited the four most serious bacteria that cause these illnesses are E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter jejuni2. These bacteria are commonly found in meat, poultry, eggs, and on vegetables.
Food borne illness is also extremely costly; the estimated yearly cost of food borne diseases in this country is $5 to $6 billion in direct medical expenditures and lost productivity, stated in an article in Patients Guide Index3.
In an article dated Nov. 21, 2000 on CNN.com, Michael Doyle, Director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia states, xe2x80x9cMost poultry contain harmful bacteria. Recent statistics show about 60% of chickens are contaminated with camplobacter and 10% with Salmonella. Turkeys tend to be slightly higher. It""s important that we think about fresh poultry containing potentially harmful bacteria.1xe2x80x9d
An estimated 55 percent of food poisoning cases are caused by improper cooking and storage of foods4. In poultry production, poultry handlers who do not wash their hands after going to the bathroom and returning to work can contaminate carcasses with E.coli. The carcass itself may be contaminated with Salmonella from the intestinal tract of the bird. While these small amounts of bacterial contamination may not be a danger in and of themselves, given the right conditions they can lead to serious illness or death.
It is well known that these harmful bacteria can be eliminated from food products by proper cooking regimens. In the case of poultry, cooking the product until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. will kill the bacteria, and the food is considered safe for eating. Unfortunately, the USDA reports that 50% of cooks do not bother with a meat thermometer, which the USDA sees as a critical problem. Cooks who do not use thermometers rely on how the bird looks or use cooking charts on the packaging. These methods can be unreliable because oven temperatures vary so widely. The problem is further compounded by the practice of stuffing poultry prior to cooking it. The combination of poultry and stuffing increases cooking times. Additionally, it is common for home cooks to stuff the turkey using traditional recipes that include ingredients such as clams, oysters, turkey giblets and raw eggs, which carry their own bacteria as well. In an article from the Washington Post, Aug. 14, 1996, the USDA warns cooks not to stuff turkeys5.
Meat thermometers can be used to verify proper internal cooked temperature. However, when poultry is stuffed, the poultry itself reaches the safe temperature of 165 degrees Farenheit (74 degrees Celsius) long before the stuffing itself. By the time the stuffing has reached 165 degrees F., the meat of the poultry has been overcooked and is less appetizing. Thus, poultry is often removed from the oven when the meat is done, resulting in improperly cooked stuffing. Other factors which contribute to contamination of food with bacteria include the practices of stuffing the turkey the night before, the use of raw meats and/or raw eggs in the stuffing, and improper sanitation methods such as poor hand washing.
A need exists for a device which will allow uniform cooking of the both the poultry product and the stuffing so that both reach the safe cooking temperature of 165 degrees F. at approximately the same time.
1. xe2x80x9cMake Food Safety A Holiday Tradition,xe2x80x9d CNN Web Site, Nov. 21, 2000.
2. xe2x80x9cFood Safety Myths and Facts,xe2x80x9d Patsy H. MacNeill, NC State University Cooperative Extension Web Site.
3. xe2x80x9cFoodborne Diseases,xe2x80x9d Patient""s Guide Web Site,.
4. xe2x80x9cFood Poisoningxe2x80x9d, UC Davis Wellness Center Web Site.
5. xe2x80x9cStop That Stuffing! The USDA Issues an Early Thanksgiving Health Warning,xe2x80x9d Carole Sugarman, Washington Post, Aug. 14, 1996; page E1.
Consumers are aware of the risks of food borne illness when preparing stuffed poultry, yet continue prepare this food in the traditional way. An innovative convection poultry pipe is described, which when used in cooking stuffed poultry, causes the temperature of the stuffing to exceed the temperature of the turkey breast meat by allowing the heat from the oven to be convected through the center of the stuffing. This allows a rapid heating of the interior of the poultry and provides a safer end food product. Overall cooking time of both the poultry and the stuffing is reduced as a result of cooking the turkey from the inside as well as the outside.
The innovative convection poultry pipe is a generally elongate, hollow metal pipe formed with a an angled mid portion. The convection poultry pipe extends completely through the body cavity of the poultry so that it extends from both ends of the carcass. It is supported within the body cavity by being surrounded by stuffing. The convection poultry pipe is placed within the cavity so that the angled mid portion is located adjacent to the small opening between the breastbone and back at the neck end of the poultry, and allows the open ends of the convection poultry pipe to lie above the bottom of the pan so that they are clear of stuffing and cooking liquids, assuring proper airflow through the convection poultry pipe.
The convection poultry pipe is provided with several features which allow it to be used on poultry of greatly varying size, from cornish hens to large turkeys. The device is provided in plural individual sections of tubing that are serially fitted together, end to end, in a nested fashion. Overall length of the convection poultry pipe can be grossly adjusted by selecting greater or fewer numbers of sections of tubing to form the device. Since the device is formed of plural individual sections that are fitted together end to end in a nested fashion, the device can be telescopically adjusted to make fine adjustments in desired overall length and positioning of the angled mid portion. The angled mid portion may be provided as a fixed, or rigid, angle, or may be provided as a selectively adjustable angle to accommodate anatomical differences in various poultry products.